Permissions

Permission modes determine which actions run directly and when confirmation is required. Higher permissions allow smoother execution with a wider impact.

Permission modes

Mode	Suitable for	Behavior
Ask for approval	First use or unfamiliar projects	Read the current project directly; request approval before accessing outside it or performing risky actions.
Approve for me	Ongoing work in trusted projects	AI reviews tool calls; execution pauses until the approval interface is connected.
Full access	Trusted tasks requiring high autonomy	Allow all tool actions without approval.

Switching from Ask for approval to a higher mode requires confirmation. Check the permission mode near the composer when starting a chat. Review personal defaults in Settings > General. The current chat’s displayed permissions govern execution.

Start with Ask for approval, then raise permissions only after confirming the task and directory.

What permissions cover

KeenKind checks capabilities for the task, including:

• Reading workspace files.
• Creating, changing, or deleting files.
• Running commands and build tools.
• Accessing networks or external services.
• Calling MCP, plugins, and other extensions.
• Controlling the built-in browser.

Unavailable capabilities are not exposed as tools. Skills and plugins cannot expand permissions on their own.

Working directory boundaries

File operations are scoped to the current working directory by default. When switching projects, opening a directory, or referencing external files, check the location shown near the page title and composer.

For tasks involving several directories, open and check each one rather than granting access to the whole disk just to avoid confirmations.

Sandbox

KeenKind uses Windows and macOS system capabilities to constrain controlled operations and checks targets and permissions before execution. Sandboxing reduces accidental impact but does not replace backups, version control, or least privilege.

Caution

Full access does not guarantee correct actions. Keep Git commits or other recoverable backups for important projects.

Resolve permission issues

1. Confirm the chat’s working directory.
2. Check the permission mode near the composer.
3. Expand the failed tool call and identify the denied action.
4. Grant only the access needed for this task, then retry.
5. Disable or uninstall extensions that repeatedly request unrelated permissions.

Subagent permissions

Subagents inherit the main chat’s permitted models and capabilities. Role settings can narrow them further:

• Choose an approval policy: disable tools, inherit parent permissions, always request approval, or allow automatic execution.
• Allow or deny categories such as read, write, execute, network, process, terminal, and state.
• Use allow and deny lists for individual tools.
• Control interactive tools.

A role description cannot grant permissions absent from the main chat, and subagents cannot expand user-granted access.